Tyson McGhee Airport is located about 10 miles south of Knoxville, TN. All major rental companies have counters at the airport. You'll need to rent a car. Here's two websites for the airport: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGhee_Tyson_Airport and http://tys.org/ . The airport is also about 30 minutes from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Knoxville is home to the University of Tennessee (Websites: http://www.utk.edu/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Tennessee ), which was established in 1794. Knoxville was the site of the last World's Fair in 1982, which was physically located in central Knoxville (Website: http://worldsfairpark.org/). There isn't much remaining except for the Sunsphere, the Ampitheatre, and a park. Market Square is the center for food, shops, and hotels (Website: http://knoxvillemarketsquare.com/ ) in Knoxville. Cafe 4 is an interesting place featuring Traditional Southern Comfort Foods with a twist (Website: http://www.cafe4ms.com/ ). Another nice place with a mix of TV Screens and dancing is Latitude 35 (Website: http://www.latitude35.com/ ). If you want to hook up withn younger adults, head to the Preservation Pub with three floors of socializing (Website: http://www.preservationpub.com/ ). Here's a website that I found for Knoxville nightlife: http://www.knoxville-nightlife.com/ . Outside of Knoxville are numerous attractions. One is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the southern Appalachians. It straddles the Tennessee-North Carolina border for 70 miles. The Cherokee people called this area Shacomage, or "Place of Blue Smoke." The bluish mist, which clings to the mountainsides and fills the valleys, gives the park its name and remains its most distinctive feature. The park is 520,976 acres. The highest elevation in the park is 6,643 feet. It is the most visited Park in the US. (Websites: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Smoky_Mountains_National_Park ). Near the Park is Dollywood which is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee just a few miles from the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Dollywood is a theme park which offers rides and attractions for children and adults, annual festivals and special events, shows, heritage and crafts, themed shops, and great restaurants and specialty foods. Here's the website: http://www.dollywood.com/ . Pigeon Forge is not only home to Dollywood theme park, but to many luxury resorts, music theatres, and world class outlet malls. Here's a website: www.smokyvacations.com . Deep inside a mountain near Sweetwater in East Tennessee is a remarkable body of water known as The Lost Sea. Listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest underground lake, the Lost Sea is part of an extensive and historic cave system called Craighead Caverns. The caverns have been known and used since the days of the Cherokee Indians. From the tiny natural opening on the side of the mountain, the cave expands into a series of huge rooms. Nearly a mile from the entrance, in a room now known as "The Council Room," a wide range of Indian artifacts including pottery, arrowheads, weapons, and jewelry have been found, testifying to the use of the cave by the Cherokees. Here's the website: www.thelostsea.com . Northeast of Knoxville is the birthplace of Davey Crockett, which is now a state park (Websites: http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/DavyCrockettSHP/features/historic.shtmland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_crocket ). Knoxville and the surrounding area is a great place to visit!
Enjoy!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Knoxville Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Knoxville
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Great_Smoky_Mountains_National_Park
Appalachian Trail Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Appalachian_Trail
Eastern Tennessee Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Eastern_Tennessee
Mike Summers - June 2012:
Tyson McGhee Airport is located about 10 miles south of Knoxville, TN. All major rental companies have counters at the airport. You'll need to rent a car. Here's two websites for the airport: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGhee_Tyson_Airport and http://tys.org/ . The airport is also about 30 minutes from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Knoxville is home to the University of Tennessee (Websites: http://www.utk.edu/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Tennessee ), which was established in 1794. Knoxville was the site of the last World's Fair in 1982, which was physically located in central Knoxville (Website: http://worldsfairpark.org/). There isn't much remaining except for the Sunsphere, the Ampitheatre, and a park. Market Square is the center for food, shops, and hotels (Website: http://knoxvillemarketsquare.com/ ) in Knoxville. Cafe 4 is an interesting place featuring Traditional Southern Comfort Foods with a twist (Website: http://www.cafe4ms.com/ ). Another nice place with a mix of TV Screens and dancing is Latitude 35 (Website: http://www.latitude35.com/ ). If you want to hook up withn younger adults, head to the Preservation Pub with three floors of socializing (Website: http://www.preservationpub.com/ ). Here's a website that I found for Knoxville nightlife: http://www.knoxville-nightlife.com/ . Outside of Knoxville are numerous attractions. One is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the southern Appalachians. It straddles the Tennessee-North Carolina border for 70 miles. The Cherokee people called this area Shacomage, or "Place of Blue Smoke." The bluish mist, which clings to the mountainsides and fills the valleys, gives the park its name and remains its most distinctive feature. The park is 520,976 acres. The highest elevation in the park is 6,643 feet. It is the most visited Park in the US. (Websites: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Smoky_Mountains_National_Park ). Near the Park is Dollywood which is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee just a few miles from the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Dollywood is a theme park which offers rides and attractions for children and adults, annual festivals and special events, shows, heritage and crafts, themed shops, and great restaurants and specialty foods. Here's the website: http://www.dollywood.com/ . Pigeon Forge is not only home to Dollywood theme park, but to many luxury resorts, music theatres, and world class outlet malls. Here's a website: www.smokyvacations.com . Deep inside a mountain near Sweetwater in East Tennessee is a remarkable body of water known as The Lost Sea. Listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest underground lake, the Lost Sea is part of an extensive and historic cave system called Craighead Caverns.
The caverns have been known and used since the days of the Cherokee Indians. From the tiny natural opening on the side of the mountain, the cave expands into a series of huge rooms. Nearly a mile from the entrance, in a room now known as "The Council Room," a wide range of Indian artifacts including pottery, arrowheads, weapons, and jewelry have been found, testifying to the use of the cave by the Cherokees. Here's the website: www.thelostsea.com . Northeast of Knoxville is the birthplace of Davey Crockett, which is now a state park (Websites: http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/DavyCrockettSHP/features/historic.shtmland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_crocket ). Knoxville and the surrounding area is a great place to visit!
Enjoy!